Our Own Set of Rules - a McRoll in the REAL World story
by Mari217
Summary: Channel surfing during an evening at home leads to an amusing discussion for Steve and Catherine


_Sammy and Ilna - Thanks for sharing my trip and being with me at Disney in spirit! Oh and I was remiss in not profusely thanking Sammy and Ilna last week for several of the lines and exchanges they provided during our fun chat that I used in last week's story. And for today's title, Sammy - another one! Love you both xoxo_

 _Readers and REALMcRollers - Cammie kisses and Nonna hugs to all. Thanks for being here with us as well as Steve and Catherine. Whether you're a new reader or have been along since our launch, we appreciate your loyalty and love._

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 **OUR OWN SET OF RULES**

"I think we're good now." Catherine held the baby toward Steve. "Kiss Daddy goodnight again, sweetheart," she said and a tiny hand reached for him.

"Dada."

"Love you, baby girl." He kissed her cheek and smiled when she grabbed his nose. "You go to sleep now and Daddy will see you in the morning."

"Dadadadadada," Angie chanted drowsily as Catherine carried her back upstairs. Two upper teeth that cut through the day before and that morning had required alternating doses of Tylenol and Motrin drops and most importantly, some snuggling with her mommy until the medicine kicked in.

It was only 9:45, but the loss of three hours' sleep had the little one out like a light before Catherine kissed her softly and adjusted her light sleep sack. She stood a full ten minutes, making sure Angie was resting comfortably before she grabbed the monitor to bring downstairs.

"Fast asleep," she sighed when she sat next to Steve with an offered fist to bump, and he smiled.

As with everything else, they were like a well oiled machine in dealing with Angie's little crises thus far.

That evening's dilemma began when in spite of a dose of Tylenol for infants earlier in the day, their daughter had woken sobbing a mere twenty minutes after falling asleep for the night, wanting nothing more than to be held by her mommy.

With a calm that belied stomach muscles that clenched with each of his daughter's pitiful sounding cries, Steve had gone to grab her favorite rocking chair blanket, a cold teether and the Motrin drops both Danny and Doctor Violet had mentioned they could try for teething instead of a second dose of acetaminophen.

Meanwhile, his wife cradled the baby on the sofa and rocked gently. As he joined his family and offered the teething ring, Steve thought she looked … perfect and so perfectly Catherine, that a tiny smile flashed across his lips at the sight of her soothing their baby while Cammie's head was resting on her knee.

Not too much later the medication kicked in and Angie slowly stopped fussing and quieted down. The little fingers that had been clutching at her mommy's tank top relaxed and began to gently toy with Cammie's soft fur.

Steve and Catherine shared a relieved smile and had given it another ten minutes before attempting Operation: Bedtime, part two with a tactical relocation to the crib.

Catherine sighed, propped her feet up and gestured at the TV. "So what's on?"

"Not much." He shrugged. "I'll grab some popcorn. Beer or water?" He passed her the remote and she surfed a bit, stopping on a wedding planning show to reach for the oversized bowl when he returned.

"Yeah … no." He grimaced. "You don't actually wanna watch…"

She laughed. "No! I was just flipping channels." She kept it up through a few more. When a survival-type camp filled the screen Steve asked, "What's that?"

Pressing the guide button she read, "Naked and Afraid".

He scowled. "That can't be right, it looks like a camping … oh for the love of …" He shook his head when two contestants filled the screen, both trying futilely to start a fire, and both buck naked. "Please tell me that isn't an actual show. It's like a spoof, right?"

Catherine patted his thigh. "That …" she pointed, "is an actual show. Where people who are totally unqualified to be in any kind of survival situation are naked." She snorted a laugh at his expression. "And afraid, apparently."

"That's the stupidest … what are they supposed to be afraid of? Because they should be more worried about having no survival skills than being naked, but…" He waved a hand as she changed the channel. "How is that even a show?"

"It says it's been on for years," Catherine read the Google entry on her phone. "Which proves once again there's no accounting for taste and people watch any old crapfest that's on TV."

"Why would anyone…" He shook his head. "In thirty seconds I could tell they had no idea what they were doing."

She smiled. "I think that's the point. If they did, people wouldn't watch."

"They might actually learn something if they did. Like not to be wandering through a swamp naked. Let alone on camera."

Catherine chuckled and kissed him. "We'll be sure Angie knows that."

"The naked part, especially." He nodded and she couldn't hold back a full on laugh.

"Most people would be equally concerned about the swamp."

"Angie will have better survival skills than those two when she's six," he said confidently, then nodded. "And I'll start explaining the no nakedness thing to her tomorrow." His smirk gave him away.

Catherine snorted. "And so it begins."

"The 'don't run around naked' thing began when the stick said you were pregnant." His mouth twitched with suppressed laughter. "I just added a naked reality TV segment seeing those idiots." He nodded at the screen.

"Maybe wait on that TV part till she's old enough to know what reality TV is." She couldn't resist poking him lightly. "Besides, didn't we have the 'running around naked' discussion when Joan was doing that? They all do." Her smile turned mischievous as she added, "It's getting them stop before they're adults …"

Steve looked a little stricken, even as he teased, "are you trying to kill me, Rollins? Because, no. That's why I start now."

"If I remember correctly…" she leaned in and pecked his lips, "your no running around naked rule doesn't apply to us. At least not until Angie is a little older."

He shook his head and chuckled as she tugged his t-shirt up and off. "Excellent memory, Lieutenant," he said even as he shifted them both and was lying over her. "Because, _that_ particular rule will never apply to us."

 _# End. Thanks for reading!_

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